Plum Brandy

September 22, 2014  •  Beverages,

plum brandy 8-1Guess what I have in my pantry? Yep, that is some hooch in the making. To be exact, it’s 12 mason jars, filled with plum brandy, fermenting for the required 90 days. I would not have ever thought of this unless the moms who came to harvest plums with their kids hadn’t tipped me off. They made a batch together after their picking, and as soon as I saw that on Instagram, I immediately asked for the recipe.plum brandy 1-1plum brandy 2-1If you have thousands of plums like I did this year, you might as well make a huge batch of this. It will make fabulous holiday gifts, don’t you think? Start with clean firm plums and score them with a knife on four sides, then pack them into quart jars. You’ll need about 1 1/4 pounds of plums per jar. Add half of a cinnamon stick and a strip of lemon peel to each jar.plum brandy 3-1plum brandy 4-1Next, pour sugar over the plums in each jar – 3/4 cup per jar.plum brandy 5 everclear-1Pour your clear spirits – my preference is grain alcohol, but you can also use vodka – over the plums.plum brandy 6-1Put the lids on and shake it a bit to get all of the air out (see the air in the jar on the right?), then open them back up and fill them to the top.plum brandy 7-1Wipe the lids clean of any sugar and juice, and tightly cap them. Place all of the jars on a rimmed baking sheet (or in a baking pan) and place in a cool, dark place.plum brandy 8-1Turn the jars over every day or so until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 1-2 weeks/ Don’t worry about a little residual sugar and leakage – that’s why you have them on a rimmed baking sheet. And then, let them rest (upright) for 90 days. I’ll do another post when the brandy is ready and will show you some fun cocktails to make with it, but wanted to share this recipe now in case you want to get yours going for the holidays too.

Plum Brandy
 
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The measurements after each ingredient are for a single quart jar.
Author:
Recipe type: Beverages
Serves: For 12 quart jars
Ingredients
  • 15 pounds Italian prune plums, cleaned and scored on 4 sides (1¼ pounds)
  • 9 cups sugar (3/4 cup)
  • 6 cinnamon sticks, broken in half (1/2 stick)
  • 12 strips of lemon zest (from 2 lemons) (1 strip)
  • 2 "handles" (1.75 ML bottles) of Everclear (grain alcohol), or vodka (about 2 cups)
Instructions
  1. Pack the plums into the clean jars and add ¾ cup sugar, ½ of a cinnamon stick, and a lemon peel to each jar. Pour the Everclear over the fruit, close, and shake to bring any air to the top. Open the jars and fill completely with Everclear. Clean rims, cap tightly, and place on a rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Store in a cool, dark, place. Turn jars over each day until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 1-2 weeks, then store upright for 90 days to complete the fermentation. After 90 days, strain out solids, then strain the brandy through a coffee filter to remove any sediment. Store in pretty bottles.
Notes
This was adapted from the Washington Post:

(adapted from http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/slivovitz/12933/)
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Comments

7 Comments  •  Comments Feed

  1. Reply

    Lynn says:

    You can do the same thing with pie cherries. My MIL made it for Thanksgiving and called it cherry bounce

    September 25, 2020 at 3:36 pm

  2. Reply

    Kathryn says:

    You never posted the finish of the Plum Brandy. I have a batch ready and don’t know what to do with it. Too many people with too many ideas online…. Started with yours would like to finish with you too…

    October 27, 2020 at 1:16 pm

    • Reply

      Michele says:

      Kathryn, I’m not sure what you’re looking for in terms of “what to do with it” – I simply server a very small portion as a digestive after dinner. It’s potent, so don’t drink too much of it at once!

      November 10, 2020 at 11:30 am

  3. Reply

    Ann Endres says:

    Where do you store the cordial after you filter it, does it need to be refrigerated?

    December 13, 2022 at 7:15 pm

    • Reply

      Michele says:

      I just started in the liquor cabinet but if you wanted to be a little more safe and protect it from anything that might still be in the settlement of the cordial, you could keep it in the refrigerator.

      December 13, 2022 at 8:04 pm

  4. Reply

    Kaylene says:

    At the bottom of your post, you mention doing a follow up post after the plum brandy is done to showcase different cocktails that can be made with it. I think that’s what Ann is referring to. I’d love to see some cocktail recipes that showcase this plum brandy. Is there a follow up post featuring cocktail recipes? Thanks!

    September 16, 2023 at 2:36 pm

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